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Brewers Top 10 Prospects – Midseason Report

Its been an up and down year for the Baby Brewers (that’s my nickname for the Minor League System). Compiling data from my network of scouts is exhausting work, but I’m happy to present my top 10 prospects from 2014:

1. Nick Ramirez – 1B, Huntsville – Has been IBB’d 6 times already this year in the MINOR LEAGUES. You know how many times Barry Bonds got IBB’d in the Minor Leagues? ZERO. Now we here at RRSMB aren’t saying Ramirez is the next Barry Bonds, but the feedback from opposing Southern League managers suggests he is feared more than Bonds was at the same level.

2. Andy Hillis – Pitcher, Arizona – His K rate of 22.0 per 9 is more than double that of Felix Hernandez (9.6). Has a unique delivery where he snaps it like a football long snapper. We’ll see what happens as he moves up the ranks, but rookie ball hitters are having a hard time picking up his release point.

3.Hector Gomez – SS, Nashville: After leading Huntsville with 16 sac bunts last year, Gomez has focused on HBP this year, getting drilled 6 times already in 2014. His 80 grade HBP tool translates well in my MLE projection system.

4. Juan De Los Santos – OF/1B/2B, DSL Brewers – Bit of a sleeper here, he’s run into shockingly bad luck this year. 7.8% of the balls he has hit in play have resulted in GIDP. That sort of GIDPBABIP can’t continue, so look for him to shoot up the prospect rankings in the next few years. His heat map is just a huge burnt orange blob, that’s the type of potential we’re talking about here.

7. Nathan Orf – OF, Nashville – Leads the Org with 4 sac flies in 2014. With the struggles the MLB team has had with runners on 3B and less than two outs, expect a possible call up later this year. His Sac Fly ability has the potential to actualize at the MLB level and we see him as a 2nd division starter.

8.Tom Gorzelanny – Pitcher, Nashville: Made his triumphant return to the minors, giving up only 2 runs in 15.2 IP this year, spliting time between Nashville and Brevard. Prospect to keep an eye on.

9. Tommy Toldeo, Pitcher, Huntsville – Fun fact, NOT from Toledo. Carries a 39 K / 1 IBB ratio. He has finished 10 games without a save due to his strong belief that closers aren’t things.

10. Natanael Mejia – Catcher, Helena: Has hit 10 more minor league HRs than I have. A guy tried to steal on him earlier in the year and he got him out. Has a 21/7 BB/GIDP ratio, which projects out to a .897 OPS at the major league level once his tools actualize.